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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/22/1998 MEETING MINUTES • . City of Bremerton Parks & Recreation Department Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting UNAPPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, September 22, 1998 5:30 p.m. Sheridan Park Community Center 680 Lebo Blvd., Bremerton, WA 98310 ATTENDANCE: Wanda Butler, Barry Cook, Lonnie Dawson, Nick Garguile Sr., Douglas Groneman, Carol Johnson, Russ Johnson, Charles McWhorter. ABSENT/EXCUSED: No one! AUDIENCE: None STAFF: Jim Spencer, Interim Director, Jodi Wroblewski, Asst. Director, Judy Baird, Office Assistant I, Lena D'Agostino, Office Assistant II. I. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Barry Cook called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m. II. ITEMS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Judy Baird informed the group of our upcoming All-City Halloween Party. Judy and Darla Hicks are in charge of the haunted house portion of this event, and they are "haunting" down volunteers to help with the "Hospital of Horrors". Volunteers need to be at least 13 years old. III. AGENDA: No change. IV. OLD BUSINESS 1. Survey Results from Blackberry Festival & Phone Survey Plan Jodi Wroblewski thanked everyone who assisted and participated at the Blackberry survey. She gave a summary of the overall results: 166 (total combined surveys collected). Jodi added this does not sound like a lot, but the survey participants were enthusiastic and provided good information. The Golden Community Center in Colorado garnered the most number of votes as the most liked facility layout. Jim said the next step we want to take is conducting a phone survey, which could help us determine whether or not the bond project is worth pursuing. We'll target the voters by using voting sheets by district. The goal would be to get 50 respondents I Page i • from each of the 9 districts (450 total). We'll need about 18 people (including staff support) to do the survey from this building (Sheridan Community Center) one night during the week from approximately 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Chairman Barry Cook said that at the night we're scheduled to do the survey, he suggested showing up a few minutes early to give us a chance to get ourselves acquainted with the telephones, etc., prior to starting the phone survey. The group agreed to meet on Oct 6th, Tuesday, 5:30 p.m., at the Sheridan Park Community Building and start the phone surveys right at 6:00 p.m. Jim added that we'll have the forms ready with designated questions and go over the survey questions. Dinner will be provided for the volunteers that night. Commissioner Nick Garguile asked if the Bremerton Sun would publish an article that would give people a heads up that the survey was coming. Jim thought this was an excellent idea and would take the action to make it happen. We'll need at least 2 weeks for the article to get published before we conduct the phone survey. 2. Haddon Update Jim had some great news about Haddon Park. He urged everyone to go by Haddon and look at the dramatic progress made out there in a very short period of time. The site has been graded, staked, and the area excavated for the play equipment. Contract completion is scheduled for October 24th. Jim is very confident that the contractor will be able to meet that date. Jim and Dan Miller (City Project Manager) spoke with Ace Paving's Project Manager, Mark Randolph, and managed to negotiate additional work for a very reasonable price. This work includes parking lot expansion, and basketball court installation. We'll install the play equipment and do the landscaping. Grant funding received from the Department of Natural Resources will enable us to plant some trees out there this fall. Our crews will go in after contract completion to do their work. The real challenge will be keeping people off the grass areas until they're fully established. 3. Evergreen Update Jim went to Planning Commission last Tuesday and presented some information regarding the Comprehensive Plan Amendment for the shoreline condition or use permit. The Planning Commission was very pleased with the project and unanimously agreed that it was something we should move forward with. The bottom line is we're moving along with the shoreline permit process and will bid the project next year. 4. SR3 Encroachment Issue This issue is related to a piece of City property (approx. 6,000 sq. ft.) located north of 6th Street, adjacent to a Chrysler/Dodge car dealership where majority of the property (which is City-owned) was recently asphalted and is being used by the car dealership to show their inventory. Jim contacted the National Park Service (NPS) to ask for recommendations since it is a piece of GSA property. NPS advised Jim to find another piece of property somewhere in the City that the car dealership would purchase and trade for this property. Per Jim we haven't made a lot of progress on this issue to date. We're now trying to figure out an equitable solution, and hope to have the car 2 Page • • dealership buy a piece of property to trade for the encroached piece and allow the National Park Service to deed that property to the car dealership owner. But first we need to understand the value of the property by having the appraisal done soon, and we've identified funding in this year's budget to do an appraisal. V. NEW BUSINESS - None IV. STAFF REPORT CDBG Grants: Per Jim, the Department did very well on the formal presentations as part of the grant application process. We're hoping to acquire funding for our summer Playground Program, Blacktop Basketball, Haddon Park restroom, and matching funds for Manette Playfield. We'll know our standing by next month. Pendergast: We're having fields 4, 5 & 6 graded to get to a position where we can fertilize and have the fields all seeded by tomorrow before the rain hit hard this fall. We will also try to get some "Tagro", which is a byproduct of the Wastewater Treatment Plant and was used out at the Golf Course to stimulate fast seed growth. We have a lot of good volunteer support from the AmeriCorps group and from the City. We have some funds leftover from the Pendergast Construction Fund which we've used to purchase some seeds, fertilizer, and also a water canon to keep the seed wet. We are confident that this is all worth it in a hope of turning this portion of Pendergast from unsightly site to a more useable facility capable of serving activities such as 7-a-side soccer tournaments, youth soccer, batting practice opportunities, etc. One of the things we're looking at for July of next year is holding a Blues Festival out at Pendergast in this location. ALEA Grant(Aquatic Land Enchancement Account): We're working on submitting a state grant application due on October 1st. Presentation for this grant application process is scheduled sometime in November. We're hoping to ask for a matching fund of up to $1 million. We plan on taking the grant funding that we think we've been successful with the I.A.C. (Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation) grant and use it as part of the match for this grant. Budget: The staff is working on the Department's 2-year budget, which is due for submission on Oct 2"d. We're doing our best to work on the challenges in front of us. Jim's goal before the end of the calendar year is to keep the Commissioners informed of everything he knows about the budget process. Parks Director Position: The Mayor re-advertised for this position which closed August 31St. The second wave of applicants were reviewed and the plan is to short list from this pool and add it to the original list, then hold an Assessment Center on Oct 5th. What happens remains to be seen. 3 Page • VII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —August 25, 1998 M/S/C/U (C.Johnson/N. Garguile) to approve the August 25th minutes. VIII. COMMISSIONERS' COMMENTS & QUESTIONS Commissioner Charles McWhorter apologized for being absent during the last couple of meetings. He complimented the good work being done at Haddon Park. Commissioner Lonnie Dawson stated he wanted to make sure Manette Playfield gets some consideration in the budget. Jim commented that he agrees with Commissioner Dawson that the field needs attention and we're hoping to acquire matching funds from CDBG for this purpose. Becky Lorber did a very nice job on the presentation for the grant application process and it remains to be seen whether or not we're successful with acquiring funding for this purpose. Commissioier Douglas Groneman said his son wants to know where he could plant a tree. Jim thought this is a neat idea and advised that we should talk to Jim Trainer, our Urban Forester, and get his input relative to plantings. It was suggested that we look at Haddon as a possible site for this activity. This would be a great opportunity for the kids to learn more about trees from Jim Trainer. Commissioner Wanda Butler said she was upset about the article in the Sun relative to the City's ownership of the Square Dance Hall. She added she is concerned about the negative publicity. Jim stated that we are in the process of reviewing all our lease agreements to ensure that we're not guilty of providing a gift of public funds. Commissioner Butler also inquired if we have a fee schedule for the public and private schools for use of playfields? She's just looking at it at a public point of view. Jim said yes when we schedule the field usage. Unscheduled usage is free. The Department's programs and events take precedence over other users. Commissioner Nick Garguile asked if there are ways to remedy the field use situation? Jim said this is a legitimate concern and he agrees that there are inconsistencies we're trying to remedy. Jim then discussed the Department's policy on field and facility use. Commissioner Garguile also added that he heard about the revenue shortfalls associated with the Admiral Theater. Jim said he heard about those concerns also, and that Parks had been mentioned in passing as a possible revenue source but never got to be a serious discussion. Commissioner Garguile asked Jim - with Eastpark moving out, has anyone ever asked the Parks Department relative to taking over Eastpark? Jim said he covets that property especially the portion west of the Aquatic Center since it is adjacent to Eastpark Nature and offers with its excellent view opportunities. If we get serious about building a new community center, Jim said he thinks Eastpark would certainly be a great location. He had mentioned this to the Mayor, and he does not know where it's gone beyond that. Lastly, Commissioner Garguile asked Jim if someone would inquire where our dog park is — what might he say? Jim said technically we do not have one. What we have is a Bremerton Municipal Code leash law. Dog owners can take their dogs to any of our City parks as long as they keep the dogs on a leash and their owners pick up 4 Page • • after their dogs. We recognize the need for this and we've looked at some areas and one of them was Lent Lane. In fact, there was a preliminary discussion on this issue wherein the East Bremerton Rotary Club is looking into providing some funds for irrigation and a few picnic tables. It would be a very nice area once the work is completed. Jim added that he thinks there is even a bigger problem, which is the need for a place for little kids to ride their bikes. We've created a little space of off Lions Field 2, but is really not adequate. Commissioner Carol Johnson asked why can't we make the walking path wide enough to accommodate the kids bikes similar to what they did somewhere in Seattle (Green Lake), where they've put in a line in the middle of the walking path? Jim said the problem is trail width and cost. Commissioner Dawson said that we definitely need a place for kids to ride their bikes. He takes his kids to the school's parking lots. Commissioner Groneman asked isn't there something at Forest Ridge? To which Jim replied there's a lot of dirt bike traffic there already. At this point, the group entered into a general discussion concerning liability and other issues associated with this subject. Commissioner Russ Johnson apologized for missing last month's meeting. He stated he needs some clarification on the SR3 encroachment issue. How about swapping the entire property and get a bigger and better property somewhere? SR3 isn't the most serene place in the world, and we could probably find a better one as a replacement. Jim said there are people who play tennis out at SR3 Park. As far as Commissioner R. Johnson's suggestion, that's an interesting thought and it's something we need to think about. Chairman Barry Cook inquired about an update on the Clubhouse. Jim mentioned that we're working towards finishing schematic designs and we're candidly concerned about a shortfall in revenue from our projections that will impact the scheduled completion date. Commissioner Garguile added he would like to comment on the presence of the child at last month's meeting. He didn't think it was necessary for the child to be at there. Clearly, we're sympathetic towards the child but it caused a distraction at the meeting. Commissioner Carol Johnson said she agreed with Commissioner Garguile. She felt we could have handled the situation differently. Jim commented that he feels he handled the situation poorly and he learned something from this. It is a public meeting, and people are more than welcome to stay. However, we should have handled it a lot like we do at the City Council where we allow people a chance to provide their input, and make sure that they move away from the table when we get ready to do our business. Jim also added that he thinks the situation at the last meeting impacted the ability to conduct business. At this point, the group discussed how to best handle such a situation in the future. 5 Page • Commissioner Carol Johnson also commented that she saw a pheasant at Hal's Corner, right by the bridge. Jim asked if she'd seen the newly-painted guns at Hal's Corner, to which she said no. Commissioner Dawson had read an article about park closure and wanted to know if Illahee State Park is a part of that? Jim said no. Charleen Burnette mentioned that the Kitsap Public Library received a grant to do a documentary series on World War II, and we were approached to co-sponsor a World War II USO-like dance which was held last Friday night, September 18th. This event was well-attended by approximately 300 people. Silverport Jazz Band played that evening. The best thing about the whole event was the inter-generational exchange of dancing. Due to its success, we've scheduled another dance on the night of November 21st, Saturday, from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. Cost is $5 per couple. We'll also have a live band. We will offer an hour of dance lesson prior to the main event. Charleen urged everyone to attend. IX. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted: (-74tvc -7-7— jf.„,1 Lena D'Agostino, Office Asst. II . Sperk-r, Interim Director 6 Page